The Ashcan

Toro Y Moi plays Toronto, says Les Sins is his Sasha Fierce

Posted on 06. Apr, 2011 by Anupa in Interviews, Music

Do chill people beget chill music? I talked to Chaz Bundick (Toro Y Moi) about his latest album Underneath The Pine and was pleased to note just how, like, normal he is. Normal as in utterly unfazed by me asking him possibly intrusive questions at 10 a.m. and totally conscious of the hype cycle (he was at home in South Carolina when we spoke). In fact, he was so nonchalant about our interview I kind of wondered if I was boring him, but before I could launch into an internal shame spiral of journalistic inadequacy I asked him if side project Les Sins is his “Sasha Fierce,” he laughed, and all was right with the world again. Unfortunately, this interview took place wayyyy before his Tyler, The Creator remix dropped. But maybe he’ll relay some cool anecdotes about that at his Toronto show, tomorrow (April 7) at Wrongbar (1279 Queen St W), alongside awesome Canadian band Braids.

So since you kind of became the posterboy for “chillwave,” how has your life changed in the past year?

I guess the biggest part is the success I’ve gained. Socially, it’s getting to the pint where I’m being recognized—I’m not used to that. I enjoy it and I’m really flattered by it but it’s hard sometimes when I’m at home. Like the other night we went to a party at a friend’s house. I was there with friends but it was a college party and there were some freshmen that I didn’t even know and they were really happy to see me. It was just sort of weird to be there and have to go into Toro Y Moi-mode while being around, like, long-time friends. They always snicker, but it’s totally cool with me. I can remember, before I had the band together, I brought the bassist with me to SXSW and he sort of saw, like, what I was doing, how I was on tour. It’s a completely different lifestyle when I’m on the road. I’m treated like a celebrity, photographed and autographs. (Laughs) But at home it’s completely not like that at all.

Except when you go to college parties…

Yeah, except when I go to a college party once in a while.

So tell me about the album cover for Underneath The Pine, it’s kind of cool and weird.

Thanks. I took the photo. It wasn’t my original idea I had for the cover. I think what I liked the most was that it was very captivating. I think it sort of caught the mood, the feeling – it’s sort of like, literal and symbolic in a way. I wasn’t trying to do this but the photo is kind of odd, there’s something about it. I like the texture in the fruit (pomelo)—it’s very captivating—the repetition of the texture made me want to use that photo. And the symbolic meaning of the closeness and the intimacy of it, the sort of weirdness and pervertedness that it also implies. I felt like that was exactly what I represented myself like on the album.

So you’d say this album is definitely more intimate?

Yeah. I feel like I opened up to more things in a relationship way; that was a challenge but it had some neat songwriting moments. I was challenging myself harder.

Was it hard to record this album while touring and promoting Causers Of This?

It was. I think all the breaks I’d had to take in recording was a big influence though. That allowed me to find time to get influenced by different things, to edit sounds.

There’s more live band-type stuff on this record. Was that a conscious direction? And how is that going to translate on tour?

It’s how I started and I felt like I was losing touch with that, and I’ve always wanted to keep changing and moving so it felt like a good idea. As for the tour, it’s going to be a full band. I’ve been doing full band since May 2010 and it is very hard for us to play Causers because that stuff wasn’t really written with a band in mind. It’s going to be more cohesive and it’s a better live show because it was made to played live and to be more intense. And there are going to be build-ups. The interaction we’re going to have on stage is going to be interesting to watch.

Tell me how that relates to your influences for Underneath The Pine, film composers like Ennio Morricone.

I don’t want to namedrop random obscure people. Ennio was definitely a big influence and he’s definitely the more popular one. I’m a big fan of a lot of the production in general from that time period. A lot of the composers who have orchestras with just a simple drumset that’s very upfront. That’s one of the things I really enjoy about those composers, how they’d mix in different instruments. That’s the link. The cinematic sound is sort of my response to creating an atmosphere using traditional instruments. Like, when I was working on the computer it was very easy to create an atmosphere through that kind of production and equipment. But that’s the sort of vibe I was motivated to put out with instruments.

Morricone’s a popular influence for a lot of people, do you think there’s a danger in going too far with that kind of distinctive sound?

Oh yeah. I mean, I’m not going to hide the fact that I’m a contemporary artist. I’m definitely influenced by people like Animal Collective and Tame Impala and Women. There are some hints in there, but I don’t want to try copy artists from this time period. I used to do that when I was younger and when I look back on my old stuff, I can definitely hear, tell what I was listening to at that time.

What gives it away?

One of the biggest things was my voice. Now, I feel like I finally found my own voice. I remember reviews of Blessa would automatically refer to Panda Bear, but I really wasn’t thinking Panda Bear, I was thinking Beach Boys! When I listen back to my older stuff I can hear hints of Elliot Smith and Arcade Fire—but yeah, I feel like the timbre of my voice is definitely what I’ve created on my own. My musical taste is always changing though.

How does your visual arts background tie into all of this?

Being interested in design from the ’70s and that sort of more simplified, minimal look just got me interested in the ’70s as a whole. I feel like I’m  just automatically drawn to that time period, it seems to be my calling. I really love everything about that time period. Even watching a film or TV show, the way it looks—the video—it’s really beautiful and warm. And even the sounds: I feel like films are the connection for sound and visual, so that’s right up my alley. Like, watching an old film or TV show and hearing how distorted it sounds is a big thing for me.

Hey, is Les Sins like your Sasha Fierce?

(Laughs a lot) That’s cool, yeah. I guess. It was created so that I could have the freedom to make dance music and not have it be labeled under Toro Y Moi because I felt like Toro Y Moi is more intimate to me than the dance project.

Tags: electronica, featured, interview, it's gonna be chill, Pop music, south carolina, Toro Y Moi